This Bean Salad is a layered bean salad with beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, arugula, hearts of palm and blue cheese with a delicious vinaigrette.
This is my first recipe from Cat Cora’s Cooking From the Hip. I was feeling a little ambitious, I guess, because I have never tried hearts of palm before, so I had no idea of what to expect. I was a little hesitant to make this, because I knew I would have to make the whole recipe because cutting it down would be a little difficult. I would end up with half a can of chickpeas, kidney beans, and hearts of palm left, and instead of just letting them go to waste, I made the whole salad. I also wanted to get the whole layered look.
Even though this isn’t a regular green salad, this is definitely healthy. Just what my body has been begging for as the weather really heats up!!
Salad Ingredients
Hearts of Palm: If you’ve never tried hearts of palm, it can be a little intimidating. These are literally the hearts of the palm plant. You can find them canned at most major grocery stores, usually by the other canned vegetables. They are mild, almost like an artichoke heart, and are fairly firm.
Kidney Beans: You could also use a white bean, like cannellini beans.
Cucumber: If using an English cucumber, I’ll leave the skin on, but I’ll peel it otherwise.
Cherry Tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes are best, but you could dice up some larger tomatoes, if desired.
Chickpeas: I just use canned chickpeas that have been drained.
Arugula: Back when I first started making this salad, arugula was hard for me to find so I would sub in some baby greens, which work just as well.
Blue Cheese: I prefer to get a block of blue cheese and crumble it myself.
Dressing Ingredients
Red Wine Vinegar & Balsamic Vinegar: The original recipe called for sherry vinegar, but I subbed in part red wine vinegar and part balsamic vinegar and I think it ended up even better! But really, you can get creative with the vinegar.
Olive Oil: I like to use extra virgin olive oil for the flavor.
Shallot: If you can’t find a shallot, you can add in some finely minced or grated onion, but the flavor will be stronger.
Dijon Mustard: I would not suggest using regular yellow mustard – dijon or a spicy brown mustard would be best.
Salt: I prefer sea salt in this recipe.
Tips and Tricks
Because of the greens, this salad is best eaten when it is fresh. If we do have leftovers, I will eat it over the course of a few days, just removing the greens if they become to wilted
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
If you have a clear bowl, this salad is fun to serve as a layered salad. But it can also be all tossed together!
Bean Salad with Hearts of Palm and Blue Cheese
Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped shallots
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Salad:
- 1 can 8-oz hearts of palm, drained
- 1 can 15.25 oz kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup diced cucumber
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 can 15.5 oz chickpeas, drained
- 2 cups baby arugula or other baby greens
- 1 cup crumbled blue cheese
Instructions
- For the vinaigrette, combine the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, shallots, mustard and salt. Whisk together until combined.
- Slice the hearts of palm into rings and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the kidney beans with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss quickly, then transfer to a large salad bowl. In the same small bowl, combine the cucumber with some of the vinaigrette, then transfer to the salad bowl to make the second layer. Repeat with the tomatoes, chickpeas, arugula and then the hearts of palm. Sprinkle the blue cheese over the top, then cover and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Lis says
Deborah – fantastic salad and it’s just the type I’m looking for too! I really want to be able to start liking beans.. and in a salad like this, I think it’d be a great way to try them. Thank you so much for submitting this – it will be served at my dinner table, for sure!
xoxo
Patricia Scarpin says
I certainly get the idea, Deb – what a delicious combination of flavors!
I absolutely love hears of palm. I always keep a jar in my pantry.
Living in Brazil I face that problem of finding ingredients, too, sometimes. 🙁
Kelly-Jane says
Sounds like a great salad for a BBQ, so colourful too 🙂
kellypea says
Hats off to your for tackling this! I understand the frustration of not being able to find ingredients, but thankfully, don’t have to go without much anymore. The food suppliers have finally realized people cook in San Diego, CA! Woot!
Sometimes, my guys don’t love my cooking, either, but they usually try it. I know watching them “try it” that they wish they hadn’t. hahaha!
Anywayz — three cheers for you!